Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe faces a contest to secure a third term as president of the Eurogroup, with two other ministers putting their names forward for the position.
Spanish economy minister Carlos Cuerpo and Lithuanian finance minister Rimantas Šadžius are running against Mr Donohoe in the Eurogroup election.
The Eurogroup brings together the finance ministers from the 20 euro zone countries to co-ordinate economic policy, with the president tasked with chairing the meetings.
Ministers had until Friday to put their name forward and an election will take place at the next Eurogroup meeting on July 7th. Mr Donohoe had previously indicated he would be running for a third term.
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Mr Cuerpo and Mr Rimantas Šadžius had both been sounding out levels of support to stand against Mr Donohoe in recent weeks.
Those in Mr Donohoe’s camp are confident of having locked up the backing of more than a dozen capitals. Eleven votes will be needed to clinch the job.
[ Donohoe ‘grateful for strong support’ to continue as Eurogroup presidentOpens in new window ]
In a letter to euro zone finance ministers, Mr Donohoe said Europe was facing soaring trade tensions, global uncertainty and risks to its economic stability. The euro had emerged as a source of “predictability, stability and transparency”, he wrote.
“We have achieved much together in recent years, but we have a lot more to do to take full advantage of this opportunity,” he said.
Recent developments in the world had “reinforced demands for a strong international role for the euro” he said. The EU needed to push forward with long stalled capital market and banking reforms, he said.
Mr Donohoe was first elected to the influential role in 2020, beating candidates from Spain and Luxembourg. He was re-elected unopposed in 2022 for a second term. The president, who chairs the meetings of finance ministers, holds the role for two-and-a half years.
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The longest serving Eurogroup chair was former Luxembourg prime minister and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, who was in the position from 2005 to 2013.
Mr Donohoe said he was “grateful for the strong level of support” he had received from finance counterparts in other countries, to remain on as Eurogroup chair. He had indicated his interested in a third term earlier this year.
Many ministers whose parties sit in the same European grouping as Fine Gael, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), are supportive of Mr Donohoe remaining in the job.
Both Mr Cuerpo and Mr Šadžius come from centre-left governments, who belong to the Socialists & Democrats (S&D) umbrella grouping in European politics.
In a statement announcing his bid, Mr Cuerpo said the euro area “needs to move swiftly with reforms and strategic investments, to unlock our true potential while addressing our productivity gaps and demographic challenges”.
In a letter to counterparts, Mr Cuerpo said: “The time has come to move from discussion to delivery. The credibility of our collective project depends not on what we say, but on what we deliver – together and without delay”.
Mr Šadžius said Europe stood at a “pivotal” moment, facing Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and rising geopolitical tensions. “As a long-term minister of a smaller member state, I am well positioned to serve as an honest broker,” he wrote in his opening bid.
The Lithuanian minister said he intended to “increase the efficiency and dynamics” of Eurogroup meetings, with tighter agendas focused on key topics, “where compromise and political guidance is needed most”.
